Are you planning on going to the West 4th Avenue Khatsahlano Street Party on Saturday, July 11 in Vancouver? If so, you may see a team in green shirts around waste bins, sorting out refundable containers like cans and bottles.
These aren’t your usual event volunteers. These urban recyclers are from the Vancouver-based the Binners’ Project, Tides Canada’s newest addition to our shared platform.
Binners, a Canadian west coast colloquialism term, are people who collect redeemable containers from garbage and recycling bins to sustain their livelihoods and to divert waste from landfills. The Binners’ Project is made up of a group of local binners who, aided by support staff, are dedicated to improving their economic and work opportunities, reducing the stigma they face as informal recyclable collectors, and increasing public awareness of their function and contributions to society.
“Binning is not just a local phenomenon, but a worldwide livelihood and it should be valued more for its positive impact on the environment,” says Anna Godefroy, Project Director of the Binners’ Project. “The Binners’ Project is not looking to end binning, but to support binners who are contributing, and want to continue to contribute, to a greener society.”
Over the past year, the Binners’ Project has engaged over 300 binners through monthly meetings, workshops, and local activities such as the annual Coffee Cup Revolution and most recently, the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Fan Zone in downtown Vancouver.
This year, the Binners’ Project is piloting its Binner Event Program, designed to increase innovative economic opportunities for binners. The Khatsahlano Street Party marks the first activity of the program. At the event, binners will monitor waste stations and properly recycle refundable containers (which will also supplement their regular binning income). In addition, the group hopes their presence will educate the public on recycling and open a dialogue on binning.
If you’re at the Khatsahlano Street Party this Saturday, look out for the Binners’ Project team. You can help the team’s efforts by giving your refundable containers to binners or placing containers in the correct receptacles. You can also learn more about or donate to the Binners’ Project by talking to any of the team members in green shirts.
Binners’ Project is a project on Tides Canada’s shared platform, which powers nearly 40 leading social change initiatives across Canada.
